


5,4,3,2,1

by Just_A_Moth_Yes_Im_Only_A_Moth



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:14:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22466245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_A_Moth_Yes_Im_Only_A_Moth/pseuds/Just_A_Moth_Yes_Im_Only_A_Moth
Summary: This is honestly the first of my writing to hit this website.Michael and Elias met on a cold March evening. They would regret everything to come.
Relationships: Elias Bouchard/Michael
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	1. And Here I Go

Michael Shelley met Elias Bouchard behind the Archives on a March evening. He was young then, his hair almost crunchy with too much gel in the chilly air. He was holding a cigarette. Michael had only gone out for a breath of fresh air, but the sight gave him pause and he pulled up his collar as he walked over. And that was how they first met. It became routine to meet the man in the cold alleys. Then, when the weather turned warmer and the rain became unbearable, they migrated to the nearby cafe. In a distant future, one would recognize it as the place where a twisted version of a man meets a soon to be fake. But no matter. 

They could talk for hours, cups of coffee and tea going cold as they justified their presence in the small cafe. When they noticed the marks, it wasn’t quite the surprise it should have been. Michael had a symbol of an eye right above his heart. He didn’t understand the symbolism quite yet. He would. When Elias showed him his, he thought it didn’t really fit either. A beautiful band of swirling patterns around his arm. When one looked closely, they could make out the shape of what looked like a hand. It didn’t matter what they looked like, but what they meant to the both of them of course. In a culture where marks like this meant things moved much faster, the two looked at each other, unsure. The lengthy conversation that happened next had them coming to a mutual agreement. Elias was just getting into his career, of course. And Michael was vying for archivist someday. So they agreed to take it slow. That was a choice they would regret.

Elias got what he seemed to want, in the end. It was strange when the mark twisted and grew, when only a small part of the original remained. And Elias grew cold. They still met, in the beginning, but that stopped soon enough. It got to the point where Elias’ eyes would barely glance at him as Michael passed before he came to his breaking point. The confrontation went about as well as could be expected. By which it is meant that it didn’t happen at all. Michael tried of course, but Elias was not the kind of man who would wait and listen when he stuttered. He would just walk on past. One time he ignored Michael’s presence in his office for an entire twenty minutes while Michael stood, stuttering, with tears in his eyes. Where did the kind, beautiful man Michael knew go? Was it the power that changed him? Or was it just that he was showing his true colors for the first time? Michael had no idea. But this man was cruel. He was not Elias.

Michael took refuge in the library. The archives were a home of their own for him, and the archivist was a lovely old woman. Her organization was lacking some, of course, but Michael had always loved the smell of old books and pages. That was where he spent his days. Enjoying the company of the other archival assistants almost helped him forget. He almost never looked at his chest anymore. He let his hair grow out. It was nice to get compliments from the other assistants, though less and less of them were coming to work anymore. He could honestly say he missed them. He missed the trips they would take. He missed Elias. When Gertrude invited him to Sanekovland, he wasn’t surprised. Although he was a bit disappointed that the other assistants wouldn’t be coming. We all know what happens next.

He didn’t even get to say goodbye.


	2. He Holds Me Tight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of this writing practice, to be rewritten when I have the mental capacity to actually write a multi-chaptered fic. In the meantime, here's some good good angst.

The great twisting was an ugly thing. It broke everything about him in unimaginable ways and left him only a fragment. A small bit of a greater distortion. And he did terrible things for a long time. But there was enough of him left to feel guilt, which was better than none at all.  
The next time he saw Elias he was visiting the new Archivist. He hated the archives by now of course, but he could never hate Elias. Especially with what he knew now. 

“Is there any part of him left in there, Founder? Or have you eradicated him? Poor, young, trusting Elias.” There was an unintended edge to its voice as it spoke of his previous soulmate. Unintended, indeed.

“I didn’t ‘See’ you arrive. Please, take a seat. Is it ‘Michael’ that you go by now?”

“Yes.” It made no move to sit in the chair provided to it. Instead it walked over in unnaturally long strides and made to sit on the edge of Jonah’s desk.

“It has been quite a while, hasn’t it?” It really depended on who he was speaking to. It had only been a few months for Michael. For everyone else of course, it had been what, decades? Hard to tell while they prepared for the twisting. Those kinds of things really did take time.

“Yes, it has. Acquired a new archivist, I see.”

The rest of the conversation was both smooth and difficult in so many ways. Jonah did not have the mark anymore, of course, but the spiral on his hand had been a comfort in his youth. The distortion had no clear body to hold a mark, but it was there nonetheless. The watchful eye of a lover, and a connection that spanned centuries. It spoke of a larger connection between the two entities as well, though definitely not one of the same nature as these two. But a connection still. And then there were the youngest. The two that had befallen to their fates. The conversation was most difficult for them, fragmented as they were. The longing and sadness they felt only lessened by the fact that they were together once again, if only in this way.  
They met again and again over the months. Their dalliance quickly escalated, as it always did. And then one day, it was not ‘Michael’ that came to visit Elias’ office.

“Hello, Elias,” said Helen.  
Jonah felt something break inside of him, then. Small and fragile. A small band around his arm slowly faded away. He would not notice until later of course, when he looked in the mirror. Just like he didn’t notice then the clenching of his fist and the single tear welling in the corner of his eye. It must have been the halogenic lights of his office again. He made a mental note to get those fixed as he offered her a seat and she took it, the clack of her heels audible in the stillness.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all like it! I've had this idea rattling around in the skull for a while. This isn't the end of course. There is so much more to come.


End file.
